And she kept going. Degree after degree, until she finished a doctorate in psychology in 2014.
Along the way, she founded her own coaching and wellness company. She also spent years helping other women build businesses.
Even Shaq spoke up for her publicly, pushing back on unfair things people said at the time.
In this article, we’ll look at her family, her school years, her volleyball days, and her relationship with Shaq. Then we’ll cover her daughter, her career, and where she is now.
Who Is Arnetta Yardbourgh?
Arnetta Yardbourgh was born in December 1971 in Houston, Texas. Reports differ slightly on the exact day, giving either the 10th or 11th. That makes her 54 years old in 2026.
She’s American and has stayed close to home. Houston is where she was born, and it’s where she has lived and worked as an adult.
Her professional life is in coaching and wellness. In simple terms, she helps people and businesses make positive changes and work better.
She founded her own firm, AY & Associates, LLC. She’s the president of it, and she’s spent well over a decade in this field.
Of course, her name is also linked to Shaquille O’Neal. They have a daughter together, Taahirah, who was born in 1996.
Her Family and Early Life
Arnetta Yardbourgh comes from a family of working women. Her mother is Cheryl Richardson, and her sister is Kinika Richardson.
Her mother has an interesting mix of skills. Cheryl works as a health educator, teaching people about health and wellbeing. She’s also a master stylist, having trained at Charles of Stephans Beauty College.
That’s worth noting. Arnetta’s own career sits in wellness and coaching, which isn’t far from what her mother does.
Her sister Kinika built a career in aviation. She spent about two decades in the industry, working as a supervisor for two different airlines. Later, she moved into running her own business.
Beyond this, Arnetta has said very little. Details about her childhood and early years aren’t public. She’s simply chosen to keep that part private.
Her School and College Years
Her education is where her story really stands out. It started at Judson High School in San Antonio, Texas, which she attended from 1987 to 1990.
After high school, she went to Schreiner University from 1990 to 1992. This is where she also played sport, which we’ll come to shortly.
From 1992 to 1995, she studied at the University of Houston. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications there.
She didn’t stop. From 1997 to 1999, she took graduate studies in humanities at Houston Christian University.
One honest note about all this. The reported dates and degree titles don’t always line up neatly across sources. Some listings appear out of order. What’s clear is the pattern: she kept studying, year after year.
Her Volleyball Days
Here’s a side of Arnetta Yardbourgh most articles skip. She was an athlete.
At Schreiner University, she played volleyball. Her position was middle blocker.
What does that mean? The middle blocker stands at the net and jumps to block the other team’s attacks. It takes height, quick reactions, and good timing.
That kind of sport teaches discipline. You train, you read the game, and you work as part of a team. Those habits tend to stick.
Her interest in sport goes wider too. She’s a football fan and has attended various football events over the years.
There’s a nice symmetry in it, really. A woman who played competitive sport ended up raising a daughter with one of basketball’s biggest stars.
How She Met Shaquille O’Neal
So how did their paths cross? Reports say they attended the same high school in Texas.
Some accounts suggest they were already dating by 1992, the year Shaq was drafted into the NBA. He went to the Orlando Magic and became a star almost immediately.
I’ll be honest with you here. The exact timeline isn’t clear. One source says they dated from 1992 to 1996. Another says the start and end dates are genuinely unknown, and even suggests things developed further after their daughter arrived.
What everyone agrees on is simpler. They were together during the 1990s, and they never married.
They also never lived together. According to Shaq, there was a clear reason for that, and it says a lot about her. We’ll get to it shortly.
Their Daughter, Taahirah O’Neal
Taahirah O’Neal was born on 18 July 1996. She is Shaquille O’Neal’s first child.
Not long after, mother and daughter moved from Orlando to Houston, Texas. That move was Shaq’s suggestion, for reasons we’ll come to.
Taahirah grew up largely out of the spotlight. Like her mother, she took the education route rather than chasing attention.
In 2019, she graduated from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta with a degree in sociology. That’s the study of how people and communities work together.
She then built a career of her own. She works at PepsiCo as a brand communications and community engagement analyst, focused on multicultural marketing.
Her job involves developing marketing and public relations plans, and building strategies for connecting with multicultural communities. It’s real professional work, earned on her own terms.
What Shaq Said About Her
Back in 1997, Shaq gave an interview to Sports Illustrated. What he said about Arnetta Yardbourgh is worth remembering.
He was thrilled to have his first child. But he was also clearly frustrated by how people reacted.
Some assumed Arnetta only cared about his money. Others claimed the two had met in a hotel, and treated that as something shameful.
Shaq pushed back plainly. In his words, people “just assumed it was some dirty thing.”
That’s why he suggested she and Taahirah move to Houston. The reaction in Orlando had been unkind, and he wanted them somewhere better.
He also explained why they never lived together. It wasn’t drama or a falling out. She wanted to continue her education.
That single detail tells you almost everything about her. Given the choice between an easy life and her own degree, she chose the degree.
Going Back to School
And she meant it. After becoming a mother, Arnetta Yardbourgh went back to studying and kept at it for years.
She trained as a coach at the Coaches Training Institute, completing a course in co-active coaching. That earned her a professional coaching certification.
Then came the big one. In 2014, she completed a doctorate in psychology at Walden University.
Think about the timeline for a moment. Her daughter was born in 1996. Her doctorate came in 2014. That’s nearly two decades of studying while raising a child and building a career.
A doctorate is not a small thing. It takes years of research, writing, and persistence, usually alongside everything else in your life.
This, honestly, is the real story of Arnetta Yardbourgh. Not who she dated in the 1990s, but what she built afterwards.
Her Career and Businesses
Her working life is longer and more varied than most people realise. It started well before the coaching business.
From 1997 to 2002, she worked as a greeting card publisher at On The Real Inc. Then, from 2002 to 2009, she was a professional life coach at OTR Life Coaching Inc.
She also worked as a professional coach for Houston Coaches over a long stretch, from 2002 to 2018. Between 2012 and 2013, she was a wellness consultant at Tri Fit. From 2013 to 2017, she served as president of Sugar Land Legends.
In February 2010, she founded her own firm, AY & Associates, LLC. It offers life, business and executive coaching, coach consultancy, corporate wellness services, Birkman consulting, and wellness products.
Her wellness work has a practical focus. It includes products aimed at fighting obesity, plus tailored wellness and mindfulness programmes for small businesses.
She described her approach simply on LinkedIn. She becomes her clients’ advocate, and that’s what she’s known for.
Her Work With Women in Business
Since July 2015, Arnetta Yardbourgh has served as Chapter President of FemCity Houston.
FemCity is a community for women in business. The idea is straightforward: help women connect, support each other, and grow their work.
The Houston chapter focuses on a few things. Connecting women both locally and online. Encouraging collaboration in person and virtually. Helping members share and promote their businesses.
It’s a natural fit for her. She spent years coaching small business owners and entrepreneurs, so leading a group like this made sense.
Something is fitting about it too. A woman who built her own path now helps other women do the same.
Her Coaching Credentials
Coaching is an industry where anyone can call themselves a coach. Real credentials matter, and she has plenty.
She’s a member of the International Coaching Federation, the main professional body in the field. She’s also a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, or CPCC.
She trained as a Birkman consultant, which involves using a well-known assessment tool to understand people’s strengths and working styles.
Her training goes beyond standard coaching. She completed basic mediation training, which helps with resolving conflict between people.
She also has certifications in group crisis intervention and in individual crisis intervention and peer support. Plus training in organisational and relationship coaching fundamentals.
Put together, that’s a serious professional toolkit. It backs up the doctorate rather than sitting alongside it as decoration.
Where Is Arnetta Yardbourgh Today?
Arnetta Yardbourgh lives in Houston, Texas, and keeps a low public profile. She has never sought the spotlight her daughter’s father lives in.
She doesn’t run an active personal Instagram account. There is a page, @ayacoach, connected to her coaching and wellness work.
Here’s an honest note. Reports say her personal Facebook page hasn’t been updated since around July 2021, and her business page has been similarly quiet since then.
Because of that, the current status of AY & Associates isn’t clear. It may still be operating quietly, or she may have stepped back. No reliable source confirms either way in 2026.
What’s clear is that she and Shaq remain on good terms. In 2014, she and Taahirah attended his All-Star Comedy Jam. She said it was their first time at one of his events, and a nice chance to reconnect with family and friends.
Interesting Facts About Arnetta Yardbourgh
- Full name: Arnetta Marie Yardbourgh
- Born: December 1971 (sources differ on the exact day)
- Age in 2026: 54
- Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA
- Home: Houston, Texas
- Mother: Cheryl Richardson, health educator and master stylist
- Sister: Kinika Richardson
- High school: Judson High School, San Antonio
- Universities: Schreiner, University of Houston, Houston Christian, Walden
- Highest qualification: Doctorate in psychology, 2014
- Business: Founder and president of AY & Associates, LLC
- Daughter: Taahirah O’Neal, born 18 July 1996
Bottom Line
It would be easy to file Arnetta Yardbourgh under “famous athlete’s ex” and move on. That would miss the point entirely.
She had a baby at 24, at a moment when plenty of people said unkind things about her. Shaq himself said critics assumed she was only after his money.
Her answer was to go back to school. Degrees, a coaching certification, and finally a doctorate in psychology in 2014. Then a business of her own, and years spent helping other women build theirs.
Her daughter followed a similar path. A university degree, then a real career at PepsiCo, earned on her own merit.
Today she lives quietly in Houston, out of the spotlight she never wanted. Sometimes the most impressive person in a story is the one who stopped talking and started studying.
(FAQs)
How old is Arnetta Yardbourgh?
She was born in December 1971, making her 54 in 2026. Sources give either the 10th or 11th as her birth date.
Who is their daughter?
Taahirah O’Neal, born 18 July 1996. She graduated from Oglethorpe University in 2019 and works at PepsiCo in brand communications and community engagement.
What does Arnetta Yardbourgh do for a living?
She is a professional coach and wellness consultant. She founded AY & Associates, LLC in 2010, offering coaching, corporate wellness and consulting services.
Does she have a doctorate?
Yes. She completed a doctorate in psychology at Walden University in 2014, alongside a range of professional coaching certifications.
Are she and Shaq still on good terms?
Yes. Reports consistently describe a cordial relationship. She and Taahirah attended his All-Star Comedy Jam in 2014.
Is she on social media?
She has no active personal Instagram. Her coaching page @ayacoach exists, though her accounts have been quiet since around 2021.
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